Global software major Cognizant on Monday announced the appointment of Anil Cheriyan as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Technology.
Cheriyan who recently served as the US Presidential Appointee in charge of Technology Transformation Services, will oversee global IT led by Rakesh Bhardwaj, Global Security led by Dan Smith, and the Strategy, Alliances, and Business Development (including Accelerator) team led by Brad Berry. He will be directly reporting to Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries.
Humphries said in a note to employees this is the first time Cognizant will have a technology leader reporting directly to the CEO, which is fitting as IT transitions from being a support function for clients’ business models to becoming the essence of their businesses.
"Cheriyan's immediate priority, once he joins on August 3, will be to take the reins of our IT and Security remediation efforts from Greg Hyttenrauch, who has led these efforts on my behalf since April," Humphries said in a statement.
As the US Presidential Appointee, he drove the technology transformation strategy, roadmap, and agenda across the US federal government, oversaw a $100 billion technology budget, and worked closely with the White House, Agency leadership and the Federal CIO.
He helped accelerate the transformation of several federal agencies, leveraging industry-leading talent in AI, cloud, digital platforms, data and analytics, identity, and citizen experience.
Prior to his government role, Cheriyan served as Executive Vice President and CIO of SunTrust Banks. He has also held senior leadership roles at IBM Global Services and PwC Management Consulting.
"As we prepare for the second half of 2020, we have good reason to feel confident about Cognizant's strong position in the COVID era. Our momentum and competitiveness are growing. Our client relationships are robust. And our digital portfolio is becoming a larger portion of our revenue mix," said Humphries.